Apparatus for treating wood veneer by forming spaced incomplete slits therein



Dec. 26, 1950 J, co ucc JR, ET v 2,535,195

APPARATUS FOR TREATING WOOD VENEER BY FORMING SPACED INCOMPLETE SLITS THEREIN v 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July so, 1948 FIGJ ATTORNEYS- Dec. 26, 1950 J. cbLuccl, JR. ETAL 2,535,195

PPARATUS FOR TREATING WOOD VENEER BY FORMING SPACED INCOMPLETE SLITS THEREIN 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 30, 1948 INVENTORS (12W!) Gall/cat J2:

ggert G Fed/nay! Dec. 26, 1950 J. COLUCCI, JR, ETI'AL 2,535,195

APPARATUS FOR TREATING WOOD VENEER BY FORMING SPACED INCOMPLETE SLITS THEREIN Filed July 50, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG.5 FIG.6

FIG. 8

Patented Dec. 26, 1950 AR TUS .EQ ..TR NG. QD .YENEER; BY FORMING SPACED INCOMPLETE sm'rs THEREIN John CoIucci, Jr-.; and Robert Gmeamayne, Wilmington, N.

Application July 30, 1948, Serial No. 41,438

This invention relates to the treatment or wood veneer and particularly to an apparatus adapted to eliminate lateral swelling and shrinking'of the veneer due to changes in atmospheric conditions.

When rotary-cut wood veneer is dried, it tends to recover the curvature which it had originally in the log from which it was out. Also, unless reasonably straightgrained, it tends to twist into irregular shapes because the shrinkage in drying is always at right angles to the grain. The tendency to distortion is overcome to some extent when a plurality of layers of veneer are bonded toform plywood. However, the tendency frequently" reappears in the'inner layers and is particularly noticeable when the plywood is cut for use.

It is the object of the present invention to overcome the tendency of wood veneer to curl-and to distort, and particularly to provide a imple, eil'ective and economical apparatus for subjecting the veneer to a plurality of incomplete cuts; parallel to the grain of the veneer, extending lengthwise in staggered relation. Such treatment permits the stresses to work out and at least partially to disappear while the veneers are in the press. Hence the finished plywood is substantially free from internal stresses and shows less tendency to warp than plywood made from untreated veneer.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as it is better understood by reference to the following specification and the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. l is a view in perspective of the machine;

Fig. 2 is'a section on the line 2--2 or Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view illustrating the driving connections:

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 44 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a sectional View of a shaft hanger and the bearing therein;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view of the hanger and bearing;

Fig. 7 is a detail in elevation illustrating one of the knives;

Fig. 8 is a plan view illustrating the arrangement of cuts in the veneer; and

Fig. 9 is a perspective view also indicating the arrangement of cuts in the veneer.

In accordance with the present invention, the veneer is cut on both sides as it passes lengthwise through the machine. The cuts 5 and 6 (Figs. 8 and 9) are in parallel staggered lines and do not extend completely through the veneer. The resulting partial severing of the fibres prevents the distortion which is otherwise charac- 2" Claims (01. 144-2) teristic of veneer without weakening the veneer to the point where it oannotbe handled in the usual way.

To cut the veneer in the manner indicated in an economical manner, we have devised the machine as hereinafter described. It is particularly notable for the relatively small size or the shaft carrying the cutting knives. Because of the rovision of multiple spaced sup orts for the shafts, the latter can be of small diameter compared with the size which would be necessary to withstand the stresses developed if the shafts were not supported between the main bearings. The supports are devised so as to avoid interference with the spacing of the knives, and consequently the veneer isout in a uniform pattern as is necessary to accomplish the intended purpose.

Referring to the drawing, the machine comprises end members 1 and 8 forming a supporting frame with connecting beams 9 and It. A housing H may be supported between the members 1- and B to protect the mechanism. A shelf 12, supported by brackets 13, is disposed on the feed sidfeaf the machine to receive the veneer as it is e Shafts ['4 and [5 are mounted at their ends in pillow blocks I5 and IT secured to hangers [Sand [9 on the beams 9 and Ill. Intermediate the ends of the shafts l4 and [5 they are supported by hangers 20 and 21 secured, in spaced relation, to the beams 9 and IQ. Cutting knives 22, having blades 23, in spaced relation, as shown more particularly in Fig. 7, are mounted on the shafts l4 and (5 between the hangers 2D and El with spacers 24 (Fig. 4) holding the knives in proper relation. Adjacent the hangers 2i] and 2|, narrower spacers 25 are used so that the distance between each pair of knives is substantially the same throughout the lengths of the shafts l4 and I5.

Shafts 26 and 21' are supported at their ends in pillow blocks 28 (Fig. 4) adjustably supported by screws 29 in flanges 3!! provided on the members I and 8. Thus by adjusting the nuts 3| the shafts 26 and 21 can be shifted vertically. Platens 32 and 33 are mounted on the shafts 26 and 21 and by adjustment of the shafts 25 and 21 are disposed in properly spaced relation to the edge of the blades 23. The spacing between the edges of the cutting knives and the respective platens is generally between 0.015 and 0.025 inch, thus affording a clearance so that the knives do not penetrate completely through the veneer. In the operation, the machine will handle veneer stock up to one-quarter of an inch in thickness without adjustment, and for all thicknesses some part of the wood remains uncut, thus affording the pattern as shown in Figs. 8 and 9.

The hangers 20 and 2| are constructed as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. They are relatively narrow and include needle bearings 34. The needle bearings are supported in a housing 35 with a bearing race 36 on the inner side in contact with the shafts l4 and I5.

The arrangement of knives and spacers is re-' peated throughout the length of each of the shafts l4 and I5 which, because of the support afforded by the bearings in the hangers 20 and 2! may be of relatively small cross-section. The bearing forms its own labyrinth-type grease seal, as shown in Fig. 6, because the bearing race 36 and the adjacent narrow spacers 25 are so arranged that the grease is retained in the bearing while dirt is excluded.

The apparatus may be driven in any suitable manner, for example by a motor 31 which may be mounted in the conventional manner on the member 8. The drive shaft for the motor carries a pinion 38 (Fig. 3) which meshes with a gear 39 on the shaft 15. The gear 39 meshes with a gear 40 on the shaft 14 so that both of the shafts are driven continuously to cut the veneer and to feed it through the machine. In setting up the machine to cut the veneer in the desired pattern, the knives are mounted in proper relation on both of the shafts. One of the shafts is adjusted, and the other is indexed by means of the meshing gears so that the cuts will follow each other in proper succession and arrangement as the veneer passes through the machine and thereby form lines of slits extending diagonally across the upper and lower surfaces of the veneer.

Because of the multiple support for the shafts l4 and [5, the shafts cannot spring under the stresses resulting from the cutting operation. They will remain true, therefore, and the continued use of the machine results in uniform cutting of the veneer. The machine is relatively simple and inexpensive and can be maintained in operation with a minimum of repair and replacement except for occasional sharpening of the knives l8.

Various changes may be. made in the form and arrangement of the parts without departing from the invention or sacrificing the advantages thereof.

We claim: 7

1. Apparatus for treating wood veneer comprising a frame, an upper beam, a lower beam,

said beams being supported in the frame and offset from one another vertically, a plurality of hangers spaced longitudinally along each beam, the hangers extending downwardly from the upper beam and upwardly from the lower beam, the hangers extending from each beam havin aligned bearings for a shaft, an upper shaft extending through the aligned bearings of the hangers depending from the upper beam, a lower shaft extending through aligned bearings of the hangers extending upwardly from the lower beam, said shafts being substantially parallel, a plurality of knives mounted in spaced relation on each shaft, spacers between the knives, holding the knives, including those adjacent the hangers, in substantially equally spaced relation, 2. platen above the knives on the lower shaft, a platen below the knives on the upper shaft, supports for holding said platens spaced from the knives on the respective shafts, the planes of the knives on the respective shafts being in non-alignment in a direction normal to the axes of the shafts, the platens being so positioned, vertically, that horizontal planes tangent to the lowermost part of the periphery of the upper platen and the uppermost part of the periphery of the lower platen are spaced from one another, whereby a veneer passed horizontally between the respective knives and cooperating platens will have slits formed in its upper and lower surfaces of a depth less than the thickness of the veneer with the lines of slits in the upper surface being between the lines of slits in the lower surface.

2. Apparatus for treating wood veneer as set forth in claim 1 in which the knives on the upper and lower shafts have peripherallyspaced cutting edges and are so indexed on their respective shafts that the slits are arranged in series with each series of slits extending diagonally across the veneer on its upper and lower surfaces.

JOHN COLUCCI, JR. ROBERT G. REDMAYNE.

' file r this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 

